International Migration Data Toolkit: A resource for understanding international migration at the local level

This toolkit is designed as a resource to assist local authorities, and partner organisations, to develop an understanding of international migration in their local area. It shares the learning and experience from a project undertaken by Middlesbrough Borough Council and Teesside University that mapped data sources to explore recent international migration, and the impact on communities and services, and sets out a suggested approach for other areas to follow if undertaking similar work

“We are still quite patchy about what we know” International migration and the challenges of definition, categorisation and measurement on local service provision

International migration has a consistently high profile within national and international politics with increased focus on measurement and quantification of migrant numbers, impact on services and contribution to local, regional and national economies. However, the absence of consistency within definitions, categorisations and measurement of international migration and migrant populations create challenges and barriers to both understanding the needs of migrant communities but also the provision of adequate services within specific geographical areas. This paper will present findings from a project designed to map the impact of migration on a settled community within a Local Authority (LA) in the North East of England. As the project encountered routine inconsistencies around definitions, categorisations and measurement of migration within the LA area, this paper demonstrates the complexity of trying to ‘measure’ migration on the ground and while consistency in measurement is key to accurate data, we conclude with an ethical question about the rationale for collecting data on migrant populations

“Just tensions left, right and centre”: assessing the social impact of international migration on deindustrialized locale

Deindustrialization wrought socio-economic and cultural change throughout the UK, Western Europe and the USA. Within some deindustrialized zones, multiple indices of deprivation rise significantly which presents complex and interrelated social problems including poverty, unemployment, poor quality private rented housing, complex physical and mental health problems, and crime. The austerity agenda further exacerbates these problems, cuts local support services, and further entrenches the myriad issues embedded in post-industrial communities. This paper draws on a funded research project in a deindustrialized town in the North East of England designed to measure the impact of migration on the settled community. The project found advantages to inward migration alongside increased community tension where poor neighbourhoods yet to recover from long-term deindustrialization saw a rapid increase of international migrants. These tensions represent competition for scarce resources amongst the fragmented multi-ethnic working class trying to get by in areas of “permanent recession”